Chapter Text
“Woah…what the hell are you?” you whispered, staring at the creature on your fire escape.
It- er, they? They were…some sort of green thing, with a weird purple mask…and a turtle shell?
They didn’t answer your question, seeing as they were unconscious.
“What is this, some 80s movie where the nerdy human befriends a weird-ass alien?” you said out loud, not fully sure what else to do. Why did tonight just have to be the night that your uncle was out of town?!
Honestly, you weren’t exactly… surprised… turtle-person wasn’t quite the strangest thing you’d come across since moving to New York. In fact, just the other day, you could have sworn you’d seen a few ninjas perched on the Oroku Building, and a week ago you’d seen a classic comic book-style superhero fly overhead. It was even weirder where you came from, back in Nevada…
Huh.
Maybe you were in an 80s movie, actually.
You opened the door to the fire escape to get a better look at the creature.
Upon closer inspection, they seemed to be a…weird turtle-human hybrid, with a big shell for a back and scaly olive green reptilian skin.
You swallowed and reached for the yardstick that lay in the room behind you, and prodded the creature.
“Did we…did we win?” they mumbled, not opening their eyes.
“Uh…” you poked them again.
Their eyes flew open. “Oh no-”
“Hi.” you waved.
“Hi!” they squeaked, hopping to their feet, before falling down again with a loud THUNK.
“You…good there, um…you?” you said, stuck between feeling totally confused and feeling bad about their condition. “Is your foot okay? It seemed like you fell when you put weight on it…”
They sat up, rubbing their shell, giving you a look of surprise. “I. Uhm. I don’t think so, but that’s okay-”
“Do you want a first aid kit?” you said, standing awkwardly on the threshold.
They blinked. “Oh. Uh…yes! That would help, yeah.”
“Cool cool,” you breathed, ducking inside.
There was an alien turtle dude on your fire escape. You were getting the alien turtle dude a first aid kit to fix his alien turtle foot from whatever alien turtle injury he had.
Tubular.
You shrugged and grabbed the first aid kit.
When you returned to the fire escape, they were shivering.
“D’you wanna come inside or something?” you said awkwardly as you gave them the first aid kit. “It’s kinda cold out here is all, um…uh, what’s your name?”
They blinked. Their eyes didn’t have pupils or irises. Weird.
“Donatello…my friends call me Don?” he said, staring at you in a confusion that was starting to look more like curiosity.
“Nice name. I’m (Y/N).” you said. (You had just given the seemingly Italian alien turtle dude your name . What were you doing with your life?)
He leaned on his stick to stand up. “Nice to meet you. Sorry for…ah…turning up on your property like this…I fell, I guess.” he said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand.
“Hey, it’s New York, I’ve seen weirder.” you said lightly, even though it wasn’t totally true. You just didn’t want to be impolite- maybe he was sensitive about being an alien turtle! Maybe he’d been a normal dude who’d gotten in…like…a chemical accident! Sure that was maybe more of a Gotham thing than a New York thing, but still, it was possible, right?
Y’know what? Yeah no, it was totally possible. This was…fine. Maybe you were the weird one for being confused, actually. Yeah no, that was it. You needed to be less judgemental, yeah.
He smiled. “Well still, thanks for not freaking out. I know I’m a bit…y’know…intimidating.”
You shrugged, giving him a half-hearted smile. “Nah, you’re good. Only intimidating part is showing up outside my window in the middle of the night, but I reckon that that was an accident, huh?”
He nodded, shifting his weight from side to side. “Sorry again. I didn’t mean to disturb you…or show up here at all, really.”
“Hey, no big deal- it’s summer, so you haven't like…messed with my sleep schedule or anything. So. D’you want like…some ice or something? Or to like…warm up? You’re just….you’re shivering is all…” you rambled, not fully sure what to say.
Donatello raised his eyebrows (or was it like…a brow ridge?). “You’d be okay with that?” he stammered. “I- I mean, that would be really nice- I’m cold blooded, obviously, so I don’t do too well in this cool weather we’ve been having, clearly.”
( He was cold blooded. Of course he was cold blooded. He was a turtle alien thing, turtles were cold blooded. Literally why were you surprised?)
You nodded as though that was a perfectly normal issue to be having. “Of course, yeah. You’re welcome to come warm up, and fix your ankle. I can make tea or hot chocolate too or something, really make a night of it.” you said, fully committed to pretending this was normal.
He gave you a look so grateful that you were almost convinced he would start crying right then and there. “Thank you so much. I’m really sorry for the inconvenience.”
“Hey, I’m always up for an excuse to have caffeine at midnight.” you joked. “Come on in, Donatello.”
He followed you in, limping heavily and yet holding himself stiffly as if he was trying to navigate a minefield.
You waved at the couch. “Uh, feel free to make yourself at home?” you said weakly.
He collapsed onto the couch, clutching his ankle.
“How’s the injury?” you asked.
“It’s pretty swollen....” he said nervously. “I think it’s sprained?”
“Should I get you like…an ice pack, or frozen peas or something?” you said, glancing at his swollen ankle.
He nodded. “If it’s not too much trouble…”
“Cool cool.” you said, darting over to the freezer.
Donatello finished wrapping his ankle in the bandages, before pressing the ice onto it.
“Thanks (Y/N).” he smiled. “I think it should heal up okay.”
“How does walking on it feel?” you asked.
He winced. “Uh…not great. I can probably still make it home…”
He tried to stand up, and immediately fell back down. “Oh shell. Maybe not.” he groaned.
You frowned. “Well…that’s not good. Where, roughly, is your home?”
“By…Eastman and Laird street. I can call my….uh oh.” he winced, staring at what might have once been a phone, but now looked more like a pile of wires and broken glass. “I guess I landed on it in the fall.” he said, looking miserable.
Eastman…that was the street by your work.
“Y’know, you’re lucky. I happen to work at the antique store on Eastman avenue- I take the subway there, and I can pay your fare if you don’t mind waiting till morning.” you offered.
“Oh gosh- is it Second Time Around?!” Donatello said hopefully.
You raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, actually…?” (Did the alien turtle…like antiquing? Honestly you would not be surprised at this point.)
“That’s so cool! My friend April runs that place- she mentioned a new employee!” he said excitedly.
“As in April O’Neil? Weird! Small world, I guess.” you said with a laugh.
This was great! Now you had a way of making sure Donatello wasn’t going to murder you in your sleep or something- you could just fact check it with April!
“So I guess if you’re working there, I’ll see you-”
“Scuse me, I’m gonna go make some tea- want some?” you said cheerily, cutting him off.
“Oh- Sure! Thanks, again.” Donatello smiled.
You ducked into the kitchen and pulled up your boss’s number. If she thought you were crazy, then so be it…maybe you could pass it off as a really funny end-of-June-Fools prank?
You: Hey Ms. O’Neil! I’m so sorry to bother you so late at night, but there was this weird turtle creature that showed up and claimed to know you? lol
You blinked and stared at the screen. Yeah, that looked…not totally like something a crazy person would write, right?
April O’Neil (new bosssss!!!): IS IT DONATELLO SPLINTERSON?
Oh.
So this wasn’t a hallucination. Radical. No big deal.
You: Uh I think so- his name’s Donatello, so unless there’s like another Donatello turtle person in the middle of Brooklyn…(like a Donatello…Smith or something?), he’s probably your guy
April O’Neil (new bosssss!!!): This is great! We were all so worried- he was on a solo patrol when his phone disconnected, all his brothers are out searching the city- is he with you still?
You: Yeah. He sprained his ankle I think? I was gonna drop him off at his place before work tomorrow, since it’s late and stuff and his phone broke
April O’Neil (new bosssss!!!): Okay- is that okay then, or should I send his brothers to pick him up right now? Because I can totally do that if you want, I just worry about them driving so late at night.
You: It’s no big deal, really :)
You: Unless he’s like…evil or something ig
April O’Neil (new bosssss!!!): He’s super sweet, I promise- he’s like a little brother to me, you can trust him :)
You: Cool, so I’ll take him to work tomorrow! Sounds like a plan
Okay, well, if he was friends with April then he was probably cool. Hopefully. You finished boiling the water, and filled two mugs with tea.
“So I just texted Ms. O’Neil- she’s letting everyone know you’re safe.” You said, handing him the mug.
“Oh! Thank you!” Donatello beamed. “For the tea, and letting her know I’m okay, of course.” he over-explained. “A-and for letting me in, and the subway fare, and the tea, and the first aid kit and- well, you get the picture.” he said, somehow blushing through his scales. He took a sip of tea, which was really smart if his goal was to stop rambling. You’d definitely used that technique before during awkward dates and conversations…
Oh wait, it was your turn to talk!
“Sooooo. How’d you meet Ms. O’Neil?” you said, tapping your fingers on the side of your mug as you settled onto the couch.
Donatello smiled. (He did that a lot, apparently.) “It’s a funny story, really…she was getting chased by robots, and wound up in the sewers. We just happened to come across her.”
“Oh, so you hang out in the…sewers?” you said, trying to maintain a casual sounding voice.
He chuckled. “Well, we live in the sewers, actually.”
You blinked slowly, trying not to say something rude. “Well…you smell pretty good for someone who lives in the sewers,” was what you settled on.
“Oh, thanks! It’s not like we live right by…you know, raw sewage though, so I can’t really take credit for that one.” he said, shrugging.
You took another sip of tea.
He did too.
You stared at the ceiling, and he stared at the floor.
“...So how was your day?” you asked finally, breaking the silence.
He blinked, seemingly surprised.
“Well, it uh…it was going okay until I tripped and sprained my ankle, funnily enough,” he chuckled.
You smiled. “You don’t say! So getting injured isn’t like…super fun?”
He grinned. “I’m afraid not, no. Especially not when you get vaguely humiliated and end up bothering someone…sorry again.”
You shook your head. “Nah, you’re good. I was worried it was getting too normal around here, so this gives me something to do with my night! My only plans were like…staring at the wall and maybe watching a movie, so this is like, waaaay better.” you reassured him.
Donatello chuckled. “You’d rather deal with this than have free time?”
You grinned. “Hey, my uncle said I need to quote unquote ‘socialize more’.”
“Oh, I’m sure that this is exactly what he meant.” he nodded.
“Oh, definitely. Actually, before he left for work this morning he said ‘Hey (Y/N), if someone happens to show up unconscious on the fire escape, you should definitely let them in and give them tea’.” you joked.
Donatello laughed, taking another sip of tea. “Perfect timing.”
“I know, right?” you laughed.
You weren’t fully joking to be honest- it was weirdly nice talking to the weird alien turtle. For whatever reason, you were actually having fun. Maybe that’s just what came with the role of human sidekick- no wait, you weren’t in a sci-fi movie, shut up.
But maybe you were- maybe this was like, your ‘call to action’ or something!
You chuckled, dismissing your wishful thinking, and continued chatting with Donatello.
-
When you woke up the next morning, you were half-sure it had been a dream.
Okay, no you weren’t. You knew it was true, you were just…mildly surprised still when you entered the living room to find Donatello asleep on the couch. For some reason, he had chosen to sleep on top of the back of the couch, apparently. Maybe he liked feeling tall.
(Side note- he hadn’t murdered you in your sleep! Radical!)
“...Hello, turtle-boy,” you whispered, more to yourself than to him, and headed to the kitchen to pour yourself some cereal.
When you came back to the living room, cereal in hand, he was slowly waking up.
“Morning, Donatello,” you said, waving.
He yawned and sat up, before immediately falling onto the actual seat of the couch with a squeak of surprise. You tried to resist the urge to laugh, and he blushed.
“Oops.” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Good morning!”
You chuckled. “Do you want breakfast? There’s cereal, eggs, yogurt, granola…we’ve just gotta be out of here by 8:30 if we wanna catch the subway, so don’t like, put together a gourmet meal or something.”
He nodded, standing up unsteadily with the help of his stick. “You got it.”
You frowned, watching as he tried to walk, hissing in pain as he did. “Do you want…like…help or something?”
He gave a breezy smile. “Nah, I’m alright. Don’t worry about it.”
“Okay, ‘cause if you like…fall and break something in the kitchen, my uncle will murder me and then I’ll murder you, so…” you said, only half joking.
He took another unsteady step on his bad ankle before cringing. “Ah…okay. I guess I wouldn’t want to fall.”
You shrugged. “If you want, you can just chill on the couch while I throw something together, and then we can hit the road.”
He nodded, before seeming to remember something. “Oh- I’m sorry to be obnoxious, but do you have anything I could borrow to hide-” he waved at his face, “-this whole situation? For some truly bizarre reason, most citizens of New York…you know, freak out at the sight of me.”
You nodded, sizing him up. “Yeah, I think I’ve got some spare stuff that should fit.”
He nodded gratefully. “Thanks so much.”
-
Dressed in an oversized bomber jacket, sweatpants, and face mask, Donatello managed to limp out of the elevator.
It was honestly a pretty silly sight, but he did sorta pass as human with the hood up. The bomber jacket hid his shell pretty nicely, and from where you stood at the door, he looked like a perfectly normal- if short- human. You mentally patted yourself on the back- you were so good at disguises.
With a bit of effort and a lot of leaning on the railing, he managed to get into the subway tunnel without falling again, and before you knew it, you were at the Second Time Around.
You texted April as you and Donatello reached the store, and in a few seconds, she was throwing the door open and dragging Donatello inside.
“Donny! Everyone was so worried!” she said, putting her hands on her hips as if to lecture him.
“Sorry.” he said sheepishly. “I wasn’t expecting the cut to act up so much- but I guess that’s what I get for not fixing it up immediately, huh?”
“What cut?” you said curiously.
“Oh, it’s not a big deal!” he assured. “It’s just a nasty scratch I got from a mutant a week or so ago. I think it’s why I fell- apparently attempting a jump while your leg hurts is a…not great idea.” he chuckled sheepishly.
April sighed, facepalming. “You teenagers are gonna be the end of me.”
“Well, I learned my lesson, apparently.” Donatello said apologetically.
“You are incredibly lucky that (Y/N) was there, you know that?” April said.
Donatello nodded bashfully, smiling at you. “Thanks again (Y/N), I really really appreciate it. I know this is probably like...crazy and weird, so thanks so much for…y’know, not freaking out and calling animal control or something.” he joked.
“Anytime dude.” you said, still mildly baffled, but trying to hide it.
April shook her head good-naturedly. “Well now that I’ve gotten the ‘worried parent’ part out of the way, I’ll leave the rest of the lecturing to Leo, alright?” she teased, patting his head.
He snorted. “Yes ma'am.”
“Now get upstairs and rest that ankle.”
“M’kay.” he smiled, limping upstairs.
April shook her head as he disappeared from view. “For such a smart guy, Don does some impressively dumb things sometimes.”she sighed.
“Yeah?” you snorted, turning to April. “Hey…question, why exactly was he building hopping in the first place? Is he like…one of those parkour dudes?”
April laughed. “This is going to sound absurd, but he’s a…well, a ninja, actually! He was on a solo patrol to investigate a virus that causes mutations.”
She said it so casually. Maybe you were just the crazy one.
“So he’s a…ninja turtle teenager?” you said slowly.
She laughed again. “I guess it sounds even more weird when you say it like that, huh? But yes, that’s…exactly what he is, yeah.”
“Did he get…you know, mutated by that outbreak virus?” you said worriedly. “…Is he okay?”
April shook her head. “Nah. He actually started life as a baby turtle, but fifteen years or so ago, him, his brothers, and Master Splinter, their dad, got mutated into humanoid creatures with human intelligence. It was caused by alien chemicals…” she trailed off, glancing at your expression of pure confusion. “It’s…weird, I know.”
You shrugged, not really taking it in. “You know, at this point I’m just surprised that I’m still surprised.”
“I was exactly the same back when I first met them.” April assured you. “Trust me, it wears off within a week of hanging around them.”
Well that seemed 100% false. But instead of saying so, you mumbled “...Um…good to know.” and got ready for your shift.
-